Words by Kidist Amberber
Wet Lung cover artwork by Kyla Callista
Crafting spellbinding dancefloor moments is the game, not just the name of New York producer WTCHCRFT. His new EP Wet Lung – out now on Nene H’s label UMAY – is a propulsive grind through techno’s murkier underbelly that’s as captivating as it is energising. Racing breathlessly across its 5-track trajectory, the release is another notch in the belt of a vital force keeping techno Black, fast, and fun as hell.
Despite using the name WTCHCRFT since middle school, Anthony McLean has undergone a few reincarnations of his own. Pivoting from his SoundCloud trap origins, he used the pandemic to enter the world of acid-inflected techno and has since carved out his own sonic lane blending techno, hip hop-oriented vocals, jersey club offcuts and wiggly acid basslines into concoctions that defy genre and carry the humorous yet self-assured attitude befitting of an artist whose M.O. is simply to make “what I want to hear in the club”.
Far from being blasé about this, WTCHCRFT brings a seriousness of study to his music – he’s spent the past 3 years delving into the Black history of acid and techno in what he has described as a homecoming. This puts him in dialogue with producers like AceMo, Kush Jones and LSDXOXO who have reshaped New York dancefloors to recognise the Black origins of techno and dance music. Look no further than Dweller, the organisation bringing radical Black experimentalism to the forefront of New York’s electronic music and club spaces; WTCHCRFT played at the fourth iteration of their festival in February.
WTCHCRFT’s music has been described as “pure 3am insanity.” Wet Lung delivers on this promise, bursting out of the gate and maintaining an unrelenting pace throughout its 25-minute run time. The tracks are masterclasses in minimalism that work inventively with a sparse array of elements to create heaving, subaqueous worlds.
Opener “2 Myself” is an onslaught of acid-tinged techno, full of propulsive claps, distorted vocals and subtly shifting percussion. Aggressive, yet with a murky spaciousness, the track sinks you into its depths. “Rain Delay” envelops the listener even further in that gutter-dwelling world, possibly even more frenetic in its spirally, cascading run.
WTCHCRFT’s effortless use of space is clearest on standout and lead single “Bagituh” which is mesmerising with its fleshy, gritty vocal line swirling around a backbone of deceptively simple claps and kicks. The track constantly morphs and shifts, building itself up before dropping into a pounding, dense wasteland groove.
Fellow New Yorker DJ Swisha of JUKE BOUNCE WERK renown adds a deliciously skittish touch in his redo of “Bagituh”, which teems with claustrophobic intensity, compressing in on itself with a wriggly synth line and urgent horns.
Closer “Dogfish” brings texture and crunch over a sparse, pounding beat that rips and slams relentlessly into the body – both the starkest and most brutal of the lot.
With its hard and fast techno that feels both classic and endlessly inventive, Wet Lung is right at home as the second release on Berlin selector and producer Nene H’s label UMAY, which professes a non-profit ethos to build solidarity and dialogue across QTBIPOC and global majority electronic musicians.
In making the music he wants to hear on the dancefloor, WTCHCRFT has sculpted a compelling, welcome addition to a techno landscape that is evidently his for the taking.